DANBURY -- Have a broken smartphone, but don't want to pay the cost of replacing it with a new one?

Now you won't have to.

Phone Surgeons, a franchise that fixes everything from smartphones to tablets, recently opened on Federal Road. It's the franchise's first New England location.

Jillian Robles opened the store after spending more than five years working in the wireless industry and watching frustrated customers leave the retail centers of national operators after failing to have their phones repaired.

"I saw these customers as lost opportunities, especially now that most carriers are getting away from contracts," Robles said.

Gone are the days that people would get a free phone just for signing a two year contract, and often, Robles said, customers don't get the additional insurance when purchasing a phone.

"And many of those insurance plans carry high deductibles that won't cover the costs of fixing a stuck home button or a volume button that doesn't work," she said.

Robles pointed out many of the new leases that national carriers are offering have even less flexibility.

"It's much like leasing a car," she said. "If you returned it damaged you have to pay to have it fixed."

After less than two weeks, Robles said she's already attracting customers from as far away as Armonk, N.Y.

"There is certainly a strong demand for the services we're providing," she said.

"How many times have you dropped your phone and broken the glass or gotten it wet?" he said. "Given that the cost of smartphones and tablets have gone through the roof, it makes sense that you're going to have to get your devices repaired at some point. This is a company that can fix almost any wireless device for a fraction of what it would normally cost."

When selecting a location for the business, Robles said only Federal Road, "the million dollar mile," would do.

"It was really important for me to be on Federal Road," she said. "Besides the large amount of traffic that drives along Federal Road every day, most of the national carriers have retail operations along the strip. If you're from the area and you're looking to get your phone fixed, you're heading to Federal Road."

Robles has four employees, including a new worker she hired this week.

Phone Surgeons also has locations in Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey and Ohio.